News

Newser's iPhone App: Are We Nuts?

The most popular news medium became, over the last 10 years, the computer, effectively putting newspapers out of business and changing the nature of television news. Over the past year, it has become clear that the next news medium of choice will be your phone.

The latest iPhone version of Newser launched this week. I think it's great, but we know as little about how miniaturization and portability changes the nature of the news consumer's behavior as anybody else.

In a way, hand-held news might be more like a newspaper than television or the computer screen has ever been. Television can't be consumed in fits and starts; the computer screen version of news assumes you have more browsing time and interest than you're likely to have looking at your phone.

Phone news, like an old-fashioned newspaper, will best be served in quick headlines. Maybe. On the other hand, it seems obvious that your phone should also be talking to you. So perhaps it's more like radio news. (There was a moment when early adapters had an ear piece and transistor radio.) Or it may be, I suppose, telegraph-like: We'll text you the news.